The clifftop town of Artena (Lazio) is celebrating its most faithful friend – the team of mules that ply the steep flights of cobbled stairs that take the place of streets and alleyways. Since no vehicles are able to manoeuvre the accesses from the piazza at the foot of the town to the houses at the top, all public services and deliveries are carried out by the mules belonging to the Bucci family, traditional mule train drivers for diverse generations. The mules cover up to 20 kms a day, trotting up and down, delivering supplies to local shops, carrying shopping to the elderly and disabled, collecting the rubbish and carrying out all normal public requirements. Hailed as the most extensive pedestrianized historic centre in Europe, Artena offers its citizens incomparable views, unpolluted air and a slow lifestyle rare to find nowadays. Its mules have also become a tourist attraction for families on Sunday jaunts.
Info: www.comune.artena.rm.it
